Akallabêth
The Akallabêth is the fourth part of The Silmarillion, and the primary account of the downfall of Númenor.'' It is relatively short, consisting of about thirty pages. The story is written in the voice of Pengolodh, and is one of the more significant stories associated with Ælfwine. Synopsis Akallabêth (''The Downfallen in Adûnaic; Quenya is Atalantë; ''Mar-nu-Falmar as another Quenya name.) is the story of the destruction of the Kingdom of Númenor, as written by Elendil. At the end of the First Age (described in detail in the ''Quenta Silmarillion), those of Men who had been helping Elves in their fight against Melkor were given a new small continent of their own, free from the evil and sadness of Middle-earth. It was located in the middle of the Great Ocean, between the western shores of Middle-earth, and the eastern shores of Aman, where the Valar dwelt. As they entered Númenor, the race of Men was forbidden to set sail towards Aman, they gladly agreed to this because they regarded mortality as a gift and did not envy the Valar and Elves who could not die. For two and a half thousand years Númenor grew in might; Númenórian ships sailed the seas and established remote colonies, some of them in Middle-earth. During that time the Elves of Middle-earth were engaged in a bitter fight with Morgoth's former servant Sauron, who had turned into a Dark Lord himself. The Elves asked for the help of the Númenórians and they agreed but as time went on, over the course of one and half thousand years, Men desired immortality and rebelled against the Valar and the Elves. Their second last king, Tar Palantir, tried to amend the evil but it was too late. During this time, Númenor grew even more powerful. The last king, Ar-Pharazôn, wanted control of Middle-earth, and so he attacked Sauron. Sauron's armies became afraid of the might of Númenor, and so he was captured and brought imprisoned to the Númenórian king. However, Sauron exploited his power to corrupt the Númenorian king to his will. Soon he became his adviser, and much of Númenor obeyed his will and worshipped Morgoth. Sauron convinced Ar-Pharazôn to try to assail Aman for immortality, desiring to destroy Númenor with the wrath of the Valar. However as this was done, the Valar appealed to Eru Ilúvatar. Eru destroyed the Númenórian host, by crushing it under stones; however, he also caused the whole of Númenor to sink under the Great Ocean. Just a few men of Númenórian royal blood, descendants of a long line called "The Faithful" because they were uncorrupted by Sauron, had fled Númenor by ships earlier with some gifts that Men received from the Valar and the Elves in times of peace. They were led by Elendil the Tall, and his two sons: Isildur and Anárion. They set sail to Middle-earth, where the followers of Elendil established two kingdoms, which were managed as Númenórian provinces: Gondor in the south and Arnor in the North. Some of the King's Men, enemies of Elendil, established other realms in exile to the south; of these Umbar was the chief. The culture of Númenor became the dominant culture of Middle-earth (thus, Westron, a descendant of the Adûnaic language of Númenor became the lingua franca). The sadness and the shock from the loss of a whole continent lived ever after in the hearts of kings of Númenórian descent. Arda was made spherical, and Aman was put further beyond Middle-earth, out of the reach of mortal men. Sauron, although greatly diminished and bereft of shape, escaped Númenor and returned to Middle-earth once more. Textual history The story originated with The Lost Road, an abandoned time-travel novel. It was later adapted into back-story for The Lord of the Rings. Interpretation As the Quenya name makes obvious, this is a retelling of the story of the lost city of Atlantis, in the Middle-earth cadre. "Atalantë" is Quenya for "Downfallen". Canon Christopher Tolkien notes in The Peoples of Middle-earth that in the final version of Akallabêth, written by his father, the work is written in the voice of Pengolodh, and that the story was originally addressed to Ælfwine by him. : The authentic text began: "Of Men, Ælfwine, it is said by the Eldar that they came into the world in the time of the Shadow of Morgoth..." Christopher then admits that this removal made the whole source lose its anchorage in Eldarin lore, and he believed he used poor judgment and excessive vigilance, which also led him to alterations of the end of the paragraph (perhaps editorial work that was not his to properly make, as he went against his father's original intent). Christopher also points out that the last paragraph of Akallabêth, as published in The Silmarillion, still contains indirect references to Ælfwine, the 'Straight Road' and other 'future mariners', which he never altered or removed. Translations de:Akallabêth it:Akallabêth pl:Akallabêth ru:Акаллабет sk:Akallabêth Category:The Silmarillion Chapters